


Before the Fall

by LokiWritesStuff



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29898414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiWritesStuff/pseuds/LokiWritesStuff
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Tremors in Dirtmouth

In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret,  
For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met,  
Under palest watch, you taught, we changed, base instincts were redeemed,  
A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed.  
\- from "Elegy for Hallownest" by Monomon the Teacher

The ground below Elderbug shook violently. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and probably wouldn't be the last, but all Elderbug was worried about was getting outside. He stumbled past expensive ornaments falling off of shelves and lamps crashing to the ground, moving quickly towards the door to his shaking house.

As he stepped outside he saw the other residents of Dirtmouth struggling as the tremors shook their quiet town. Cornifer was frantically gathering his maps together as his wife Iselda attempted to stop pins and parchment from falling off of the shelves in their shop. Sly came running from his shop clutching bags of his precious geo, the only thing he couldn't bear to leave behind. Screams could be heard from Jiji's cave.

The tremors shook the ground more and more violently, and a shape began to burrow up through the earth. Everyone stepped back as a large goam came up from the ground, its spines glinting in the light. The goam quickly left the earth and sat beached on the soil. Elderbug approached the goam, it's teeth and spines frantically moving in an attempt to dig back into the ground. Everyone was silent until a single voice echoed across the landscape. "What the hell happened here?" The voice asked as a figure emerged from the mist. He was tall and pale. Wrapped around him was a white cloak and atop his head was a ring of long spikes stretching above him.

"Your majesty," said Elderbug as the Pale King approached him, "another goam."  
"Damn it," said the Pale King, "that's the third one this week. Why are they doing this?"  
"They could be attempting to migrate without the knowledge of a surface," Cornifer suggested.  
"No," replied the Pale King, "They would know." He looked at the goam's frantic movements with sympathy. "Let's get it back in the ground." The residents of Dirtmouth worked together to lift the goam up so it could burrow into the ground.

"So, what brings you to Dirtmouth your majesty?" Asked Elderbug.  
"I was checking on the mining operation in the crystal peak when I heard Jiji's screaming," Replied the Pale King. He looked down at the hole made by the goam. "I wonder why this is happening."  
"Well Cornifer could be correct," suggested Sly, "But it is a little odd that they wouldn't know about the surface." The Pale King glanced at the hole again, and began to walk towards the Crossroads. "I should be heading to the archives," he said, "See if you can find out what's causing this."

The goam burrowed through the earth, thankful for the residents of Dirtmouth's aid. However, it was still there. The voice. The voice that had driven it mad enough to beach itself on the surface. A strange voice in the back of its mind. A voice saying "Obey, obey, obey,"...


	2. Quirrel

Uomas and oomas floated by the Pale King as he made his way through the fog canyon. This wasn't an easy trek; the fog made it hard to see and one wrong step could send you plummeting to your death. This is why Monomon the Teacher decided to build her archives here. The harder it was to reach the archives, the more protected they would be. The uomas and oomas were a kind of guard force, though the uomas were mostly harmless unless you happened to bump into one. The oomas, however, had a very aggressive and volatile core, that would chase their target and explode on impact should they be attacked.

Eventually, the Pale King reached the metallic structures of the archives. The archives weren't your usual parchment records of knowledge and history; the archives were a vast collection of glass tubes filled with a preservation fluid, capable of containing anything from artifacts to knowledge and thought itself for any length of time. Monomon sought to preserve all knowledge of the past and present for future generations to learn from, from the smallest facts to the longest chronicles.

The Pale King approached the large preservation tube in the center of the archives. This tube was for Monomon herself, should she have a need to be preserved for the future. A faint green glow radiated from the fluid inside the tube. How the fluid worked or was even made was a mystery to the Pale King; it was one of the few things Monomon kept to herself. He looked at the intricate metal structures surrounding the tube. Embedded within the structures were various instruments for performing tasks such as regulating temperature and monitoring Monomon's vitals.

Stood on one of the many platforms surrounding the tube was a bug the Pale King had never seen before. He had a cloth wrapped around his head and white mask not unlike the ones worn by warriors hiding his face. The nail strapped to his back further implied he was a warrior, but the nail was unlike any the Pale King had seen before. It was long and thin and flared outwards at the hilt. Surprisingly it was perfectly sharpened and polished, showing no obvious signs of wear from battle. The bug was cleaning some of the tube's metalwork with a cloth.

"Hey, you up there!" Called the Pale King. The bug froze and looked nervously over the edge of the platform to see the Pale King looking back at him. "Yes?" The bug said, unsure why the Pale King was there.  
"What's your name?" The Pale King asked calmly, sensing the bug's fear.  
"Quirrel," The bug replied.  
"Well Quirrel, what are you doing down here?"  
"I've been here my whole life. I help lady Monomon with the archives."  
"Do you know where Monomon is?"  
"I think she went to put some artifacts in one of the preservation tubes..."  
"Why don't you come down here so we can talk?"  
Quirrel hesitated for a moment. "Um, ok," He said, clearly still very nervous.

Quirrel made his way down to the Pale King. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked.  
"You," The Pale King replied, "Have you really been here your whole life?"  
"Yes. Lady Monomon said she found me when I was very young, and my parents were nowhere to be found. So, she took me in, raised me, and now I'm her apprentice."  
"And you've never left the archives?"  
"No."  
The Pale King was surprised at this. It wasn't like Monomon to keep someone confined to one space. But, she most likely had her reasons. "I should take you to the city some time," He suggested, putting an arm around Quirrel. His arm felt strange to Quirrel. It was rough. And dry, very dry. As if he was alive but at the same time not. "That would be nice," He said.


	3. Answers

It was at this moment that Monomon entered the room, towering over the Pale King and Quirrel. A black cloak draped over her green, jelly-like body, her four tentacles hung below her. The mask that covered her face shimmered with some kind of strange magic. She glided over to the Pale King and Quirrel, hovering just off of the ground. "Lady Monomon," Quirrel said, dropping to one knee.  
"Quirrel," Monomon replied, turning to face the Pale King. He looked up at her with a serious look on his face. "Perhaps you should leave." Quirrel quickly left the room, leaving Monomon and the Pale King alone.

Monomon turned back to face the Pale King. "Another one?" She asked. The Pale King nodded. "Why are they doing this?" He asked.  
"It is easy to think of many reasons as to why this could be happening," Monomon replied, "Finding the correct reason, however, is much more difficult." Sometimes the Pale King tired of Monomon's cryptic and riddle-like speech. "Well how do I find the correct reason?"  
"All answers are hidden in the past, present and future of Hallownest. You just need to know where to look to find them."

"Well, we need to go through the archives then," the Pale King exclaimed, "Find the answer we need." He dashed to the control panel for one of the many preservation tubes. "How does this thing work?" Monomon watched, silent, as the Pale King tried to open the tube. She knew he was impatient, but she had never seen it firsthand. "Wyrm..." She said. The Pale King froze. "Only one other being has called me that name before," He said, "What do you know?"

"There is a prophecy," Monomon said, "From before the days of Hallownest."  
"And why didn't I know this before?" The Pale King asked.  
"There was no need for you to know. However, with the goams' strange behaviour I think it would be best if you knew."

Monomon moved to the control panel of a preservation tube in the corner. She reached down with her tentacles and began to press the buttons on the panel, searching. A few more presses and the glow emitting from the tube glowed brighter, and text flooded the control panel's screen. She read the prophecy aloud...


	4. The Prophecy

Long ago, before the dawn of time, godly beings existed: the Wyrm, and the Radiance. These beings worked together to create the world we know. The Wrym shaped the world, and the creatures that live in it; the Radiance shaped the light, and the creatures minds and dreams.

However, the Wyrm was betrayed by the Radiance. She struck him down with a great blade of light, and his corpse fell to the world he had helped to create. The Radiance used the creatures' dreams to take control of them, turn them into a hive mind with her as their master, make them do her bidding.

What the Radiance didn't know, is that the Wyrm was not dead. He was reborn from a shred of his skin, into a mortal form to hide amongst the creatures he had created. He became the Pale One. He was just as any other creature of this land. The Radiance could not find him, nor take control of his mind as she had done to so many.

The Pale One walked amongst the mortal creatures of his creation for many years, waiting for an opportunity to save them all. One day, that opportunity struck. The Pale One traveled to the highest point in the land, and using the little power he had in his mortal form gave his creations the only gift he had to give: free will. Now, with the Radiance banished, the Pale One guides us to civilization, to a place he calls 'Hallownest'.

However, the Radiance will return, stronger than before. Upon her return, the world will be thrown into dark times once again, for many, many years. The Pale One will not be able to banish the Radiance a second time. Only a creature of darkness, created by the Pale One himself, will have that power. There will be many failures, and many successes that will not be successful, but in the end Hallownest will rise again. And in the ultimate battle of dark against light, the Radiance will be banished once and for all.


End file.
